TWELFTH    STREET 

ST.    LOUIS'    MOST     NEEDED 
COMMERCIAL  THOROUGHFARE 


THE  CITY  PLAN  COMMISSION 
'UIS,  MISSOURI 


TWELFTH       STREET 

ST.    LOUIS'    MOST     NEEDED 
COMMERCIAL  THOROUGHFARE 

THE  CITY  PLAN  COMMISSION 
ST.  LOUIS,  MISSOURI 


HARLAND  BARTHOLOMEW 
ENGINEER 


May.   1919 


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University  of  California 

Los  Angeles  24,  California 


Von  Hoffmann  Press, 
St.  Louis,  Mo. 

.  .  Z-  :'  ft   - 


APR  13  1991 


OFFICE  OF 

THE  CITY  PLAN  COMMISSION 

OF  ST.  LOUIS,  MISSOURI. 

May  First,  Nineteen  Nineteen. 


To  the  Honorable  Board  of  Public  Service, 
St.  Louis,  Mo. 

Gentlemen — The  City  Plan  Commission  has  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  for 
your  consideration  a  report  on  the  development  of  Twelfth  Street. 

Respectfully  submitted, 


ERNEST  J.  RUSSELL, 


Chairman, 


ALEXANDER  S.  LANGSDORF, 
Vice-Chairman. 

W.  F.  CARTER, 

W.  H.  FUCHS, 

C.  E.  GOLTERMANN, 

CLARENCE  H.  HOWARD, 

JNO.  A.  OCKERSON, 

EDWIN  D.  SMITH. 
Members  of  the  City  Plan  Com- 
mission, 


LOUIS  P.  ALOE, 

President  Board  of  Aldermen, 

E.  R.  KINSEY, 
President  Board  of  Public  Service, 

CHAS.  M.  TALBERT, 

Director  Streets  and  Sewers, 

NELSON  CUNLIFF, 

Commissioner    of    Parks    and 
Recreation, 

JAMES  N.  McKELVEY, 

Building    Commissioner, 

Members  Ex-Officio, 

HARLAND  BARTHOLOMEW, 

Engineer. 


Twelfth  street,  "Court  of  Honor,"  looking  south  from  Washington  avenue.  The  original 
width  0}  150  frit  for  this  portion  of  Twelfth  street  has  given  St.  Louis  a  public  plaza  of  unques- 
tioned  benefit,   in  fact  our  principal  public  gathering   place. 


TWELFTH  STREET 


More  than  250,000  people  living  south  of  the  Mill  Creek  Valley  and  more  than 
200,000  people  living  north  of  Cass  and  Easton  Avenues  are  deprived  of  direct  access 
to  the  central  business  district,  because  of  a  lack  of  direct  street  connections  to  the 
north  and  to  the  south.  This  connection  is  well  shown  by  traffic  counts,  which  indi- 
cate that  a  large  percentage  of  the  traffic  entering  and  leaving  the  business  district 
travels  in  a  westwardly  direction.  It  is  a  commonly  known  fact  that  much  traffic 
from  the  north  and  south  uses  Grand  or  Jefferson  Avenues  and  turns  east  from  there 
to  the  central  business  district. 

Not  only  are  street  connections  to  the  north  and  south  from  the  business  district 
so   poor   that   vehicular   traffic   avoids   them,  but  their  irregularity  necessitates  their 


View  of  Twelfth  street  looking  south  from  Washington  avenue, 
taken  several  years  ago.  Compare  this  with  present  use  of  the 
street  by  all  forms  of  traffic. 

avoidance  by  many  of  the  street  car  lines.     Such  car  lines  as  use  them  are  subjected 
to  considerable  loss  of  time. 

For  the  past  ten  or  fifteen  years  the  active  growth  of  St.  Louis  has  been  to  the 
west.  There  are  several  direct  street  connections  to  the  west,  though  not  of  suf- 
ficient width.  Recent  ordinances  have  been  passed,  however,  to  facilitate  the  move- 
ment of  traffic  westward,  such  as  the  widening  of  Washington  Avenue,  the  widening 
of  the  roadway  on  Locust  Street,  the  Pine-Lawton  cut-off,  the  Morgan- Delmar  cut-off 
at  Grand  Avenue,  the  widening  of  Morgan  Street  from  12th  to  14th,  and  its  pro- 
posed repavement  throughout.  There  is  still  room  for  substantial  growth  in  both  the 
northern  and  southern  sections  of  the  city,  particularly  to  the  northwest  and  south- 
west, where  much  unimproved  land  now  exists.  These  two  sections  of  the  city  ought 
to  be  brought  into  more  effective  use  inasmuch  as  their  upbuilding  will  mean  addi- 
tional improvement  within  the  city  limts.  Additional  growth  to  the  west  means  that 
St.  Louis  will  not  benefit  directly  until  the  city  limits  can  be  extended.  Additional 
growth  to  the  north  and  south  is  possible  only  through  better  street  connections 


CITY   PLAN   COMMISSION 


on  which  can  come  the  needed  extensions  of  the  transit  lines  to  accommodate  the 
increased  population  there. 

Twelfth  Street,  extended  to  meet  Gravois  Avenue  on  the  south  and  Natural 
Bridge  Avenue  and  Florissant  Avenue  on  the  north  would  be  the  backbone  of  all 
vehicular  and  transit  connection  to  the  central  business  district  from  the  south  and 
from  the  north.  Indeed  this  route  should  become  the  most  used  thoroughfare  in  St. 
Louis  when  properly  extended  and  widened. 


RELATION   OF   TWELFTH   STREET   TO  THE 
BUSINESS  DISTRICT 

Twelfth  Street  is  the  present  western  boundary  of  the  central  business  district. 
Its  present  width  of  150  feet  between  Market  Street  and  Washington  Avenue  has 
acted  as  a  natural  barrier  to  further  westward  expansion  of  the  retail  business  dis- 
trict.   This  has  been  a  desirable  boundary  since  it  helped  to  stimulate  a  more  inten- 


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Twelfth    street    is    the    center    of    the    system  of  arterial  streets,  and  as  such  mill  greatly 
influence   the  further  development  of  rapid   transit  as  well  as  vehicular  traffic  movement. 

sive  development  of  the  business  district  than  perhaps  might  otherwise  have 
occurred.  The  business  district  is  growing,  however.  For  various  well-known  rea- 
sons it  can  expand  only  northward  or  westward.  Because  of  the  preponderance  of 
the  traffic  movement  westward,  the  business  district  will  naturally  expand  in  that 
direction  and  Twelfth  Street  will  not  long  be  the  western  boundary  of  the  business 
district.  Today,  in  fact,  a  substantial  amount  of  wholesale  business  has  already 
spread  out  Washington  Avenue  as  far  as  18th.  Within  a  few  years  the  business  dis- 
trict can  be  expected  to  expand  at  least  as  far  west  as  18th  Street.  Twelfth  Street 
will  then  be  an  even  more  important  factor  in  the  business  district's  future  than  it 
is  at  present.  Its  great  width  permits  it  to  act  now  as  a  distributing  point  for  much 
of  the  vehicular  traffic  passing  to  and  from  the  business  district.  Likewise  it  will  ren- 
der an  exceedingly  similar  valuable  service  for  rapid  transit  subway  purposes  when 
rapid  transit  is  first  established. 


TWELFTH  STREET 


CONNECTIONS  SOUTH 

An     ordinance     has     recently 
been  passed  providing  for  a  con- 
tinuation of  the  present  width  of 
150  feet  on  Twelfth  Street  south- 
wardly   from    Market    to    Spruce 
Streets,  which  is  at  the  'entrance  of 
the  new  $500,000  viaduct  over  the 
Mill   Creek  Valley.     The  estimated 
cost  of  this  widening  is  $271,000.  At 
Chouteau  Avenue,  the  southern  terminus 
of  the   Twelfth   Street  viaduct,  Twelfth 
Street  will  soon  be  opened  directly  south  to 
Park  Avenue,  where  it  connects  with  the  pres- 
ent Twelfth  Street,  which  has  a  width  of  80  feet  beyond 
that  point.     The  opening  between  Chouteau  and  Park 
Avenues  is  provided  for  by  an  ordinance  passed  in   1918.     At   Geyer  Avenue,  it  is 
proposed  to  effect  a  direct  connection  between  Twelfth  Street  and  Gravois  Avenue, 
which  latter  street  terminates  now  at  Russell  Avenue. 


View  from  Viaduct  looking  south  towards  Chouteau  avenue.  An 
ordinance  for  the.  opening  of  Twelfth  street  south  from  the  Viaduct 
passed  in  1918,  and  the  commission  appointed  to  fix  benefits  and 
iliimages  has  recently  filed  its  report.  This  opening  Kill  remove  the 
buildings  seen  in  the  center  background. 


View  shotving  relation  of  Twelfth   street   to   the  development  of  St.  L 


v.    Connections  north  and  south  reach  to  very  nearly  all  parti  of  tne  city. 


10 


CITY   PLAN   COMMISSION 


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11 

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Grauois   avenue  nest  of   Grand 
widened  several  years  ago. 


is  now  SO  feet  wide,  having  been 


Gravois  Avenue  is 
a  radial  thorough- 
fare running  diag- 
onally through  the 
entire  southern  sec- 
tion of  the  city.  It 
virtually  bisects  the 
great  population 
there.  Some  years 
ago  it  was  widened 
from  60  to  80  feet 
west  of  Grand  Ave- 
nue. East  of  Grand 
Avenue  it  now  has 
a  width  of  but  60 
feet,  accommodates 
throughout  much  of 
its  length  a  double 
track  trolley  line  and 
has  a  poor  pavement, 


which  set  of  circumstances  combine  to  render  it  practically  useless  as  a  traffic  artery 
east  of  Grand  Avenue.  The  entire  southern  Twelfth  Street  route  from  Chouteau 
Avenue  to  the  city  limits  at  Gravois  Avenue,  a  distance  of  something  over  six  miles, 
should  be  given  a  uniform  width  of  80  or  100  feet.  Ordinances  are  now  being  pre- 
pared and  will  soon  be  introduced  for  the  very  necessary  extension  of  Gravois  Ave- 
nue from  Russell  to  meet  Twelfth  Street  at  Geyer  Avenue,  for  the  widening  of 
Gravois  Avenue 
from  60  to  100  feet 
between  Russell 
Avenue  and  Grand 
Avenue,  and  for  an 
increase  in  the  width 
of  Twelfth  Street 
from  80  to  100 
feet  between  Geyer 
and  Park.  The  to- 
tal    assessed     value 

of    property    to    be 

taken  for  these  three 

improvements 

is  $623,000,  which 

would  make  their 

total  estimated  cost 

from    $1,500,000     to 

$2,000,000. 

Gravois  avenue  east  of  Grand  avenue  is  60  feet  wide.    A  width  of 
100  feet  will  be  none  too  wide  to  carry  the  future  traffic  of  this  street. 


TWELFTH  STREET 


11 


CONNECTIONS  NORTH 

An  ordinance  for  the  ex- 
tension   of    Twelfth    Street 
north   from   Washington   Ave- 
nue via  High,  13th,  Mullanphy 
and   15th  Streets,  to  meet   Floris- 
sant  Avenue  at   Palm    Street  has 
been  prepared  and  will  soon  be  introduced 
for  passage  at  the  new  session  of  the  Board 
of  Aldermen.  This  ordinance  provides  for  a  uniform 
width  of  100  feet  between  the  points  mentioned.    It 

will  connect  directly  with  such  important  streets  as  St.  Louis  Avenue,  North  Market 
Street,  Florissant  Avenue,  Carter  Avenue  and  Natural  Bridge  Avenue,  if  the  latter 
were  extended  a  short  half  block  to  Palm  Street.  The  total  assessed  value  of 
property  to  be  taken  for  this  widening,  which  is  known  as  the  North  Twelfth  Street 
opening,  is  $587,840,  which  makes  its  total  estimated  cost  not  more  than  $1,500,000. 
An  ordinance  will  soon  be  prepared  and  introduced  for  the  widening  of  Natural 
Bridge  Avenue  and  its  extension  to  Palm  Street,  also  widened,  the  entire  route  to  have 
a  width  of  100  feet.  Natural  Bridge  Avenue  is  a  main  street  in  the  northern  section  of 
the  city  and  most  nearly  divides  that  section  in  two,  making  it  the  natural  center 
of  traffic  movement  to  and  from  the  central  business  district.  Natural  Bridge  Avenue 
on  the  north  as  well  as  Gravois  Avenue  on  the  south  are  two  of  the  principal  thor- 
oughfares leading  into  St.  Louis  County  and  which  connect  directly  with  various 
routes  to  different  parts  of  the  state.     West  of  Kingshighway  and  north  of  Natural 

Bridge  Avenue  there 
is  developing  a  sub- 
stantial industrial 
area  adjacent  to  the 
Terminal  Railroad 
belt  line.  Natural 
Bridge  Avenue  is 
now  occupied  by  a 
double  track  trolley 
line,  making  its  pres- 
ent width  of  60  feet 
entirely  ineffectual 
for  good  traffic  move- 
ment. A  width  of  80 
to  100  feet  is  needed 
to  accommodate  the 
great  volume  of  traf- 
fic that  will  develop 
as  a  result  of  the  in- 

View   looking   north   at   High  and   Biddle  streets,   showing   present  dustrial    district. 

Biddlc  Market  on  the  left.  At  this  point  High  street  would  be  widened  There  is  now  no 
50  feet  on  the  east   (right-hand  side  of  pieture),  under  the  plan  here 

suggested.  street  that  connects 


12 


CITY   PLAN   COMMISSION 


Twelfth  street  looking  north  towards  Washington  avenue.  Buildings 
shoicn  will  be  arcaded  on  first  floor  to  admit  sidewalk.  There  is  an 
80-foot  clearance  between  buildings. 


this  great  industrial 
area  or  this  entire 
section  of  the  city 
directly  with  the 
business  district. 
The  widening  of 
Natural  Bridge  Ave- 
nue and  the  exten- 
sion of  north  Twelfth 
Street  will  open  up  a 
route  which  will  be 
of  incalculable  ad- 
vantage to  this  whole 
section  of  the  city. 

Florissant  Avenue 
is  also  an  important 
artery  at  the  extreme 
northern  part  of  the 
city.  West  of  Warne 
Avenue  it  has  a 
width  of  100  feet; 
between  Warne  and 
Grand  it  has  a  width  of  60  feet.  Between  Grand  and  Grove  Street,  Florissant  Ave- 
nue has  been  officially  dedicated  but  never  physically  opened,  while  from  Grove 
Street  to  Palm  it  has  a  width  of  60  feet.  There  should  be  a  uniform  width  of  at 
least  80  feet  or  100  feet  on  Florissant  Avenue  from  Palm  Street,  the  terminus  of  the 
north  Twelfth  Street 
route,  to  Warne 
Avenue,  west  of 
which  point,  as  pre- 
viously stated,  Flor- 
issant Avenue  has  a 
width  of  100  feet. 

CONCLUSION 
There  is  shown 
herewith  a  map  il- 
lustrating the  con- 
nections of  Twelfth 
Street  north  and 
south.  From  this  it 
will  be  seen  that  the 
Twelfth  Street  route 
once  developed  can 
literally  be  called  the 
backbone  of  St. 
Louis,  for  its  con- 
nections spread  to  a 
great   percentage   of 


Natural  Bridge  avenue.    Under  the  present  pla 
widened  from  60  feet,  as  at  present,  to  100  feet 


n  the  street  would  be 
throughout. 


TWELFTH  STREET 


13 


the  city's  area,  while  it  will 
afford  direct  vehicular,  as 
well  as  transit  line  accom- 
modations to  the  business 
district  for  a  considerable 
majority  of  the  city's  popu- 
lation. Not  only  is  it  absurd 
to  think  of  so  large  a  popu- 
lation being  deprived  of 
direct  connections  with  the 
central  business  district, 
but  it  may  be  stated  with 
confidence  that  the  city  can 
no  longer  grow  to  the  north  or  south  without  the  very  necessary  connections  which 
the  Twelfth  Street  route  will  provide. 

The  City  Plan  Commission  proposes  that  the  various  ordinances  to  complete  the 
entire  route  be  introduced  at  this  time  so  that  the  actual  physical  improvements 
may  be  made  within  the  next  two  or  three  years.  This  is  extremely  desirable  since 
to  postpone  them  will  not  only  increase  their  cost,  but  may  even  make  their  full  real- 
ization impossible.  A  further  reason  for  undertaking  all  of  the  ordinances  at  one 
time  is  that  the  great  area  benefited  by  the  entire  route  can  be  assessed  for  its 
proportion  of  the  benefit  practically  at  one  time  instead  of  having  to  bear  several 
special  assessments  if  the  route  were  to  be  developed  piecemeal.  Assuredly  much 
of  the  property  will  be  benefited  by  the  opening  of  the  entire  route.  If  opened  all  at 
one  time  the  benefit  assessments  will  be  no  hardship  upon  any  particular  property. 
The  total  cost  of  the  entire  plan  is  not  great.  The  city  at  large  should  bear  at  least  30 
per  cent  of  this  cost 
as  its  share  of  the 
benefit  to  be  derived. 
The  remaining  70 
per  cent  to  be  paid 
by  property  which  is 
benefited  by  the 
opening  will  be  but  a 
small  percentage  of 
the  actual  benefit  de- 
rived from  the  open- 
ing, while  the  great 
area  over  which 
benefit  assessments 
can  be  spread  should 
make  the  total  cost 
to  individual  prop- 
erty owners  exceed- 
ingly small.  Prop- 
erty fronting  on  the 

new  route  should    of         Natural  Bridge  avenue  west  "I  Union  avenue  could  nun-  be  widened 

without  difficulty  mni  at  small  cost.     Here  will  soon  in   mi  t  ctensivi 
course,   be   benefited      Industrial  district  requiring  a   100-foot  street. 


TWELFTH  STREET  15 


more  than  that  which  is  some  distance  away  and  should  naturally  pay  a  higher  per- 
centage of  the  cost. 

The  comparative  unanimity  of  demand  for  this  improvement,  not  only  by  the 
local  improvement  associations  in  various  parts  of  the  city  affected  by  it,  but  upon 
the  part  of  all  those  interested  in  the  development  of  the  entire  city  warrants  the 
earliest  action  possible,  so  that  the  great  benefits  to  be  derived  may  be  realized  at 
the  earliest  possible  date.  It  is  estimated  that  if  all  the  ordinances  were  to  be 
acted  upon  by  July  of  this  year,  it  would  take  at  least  two  years  for  the  special 
commissions  appointed  to  fix  benefit  and  damage  assessments  to  report  their  find- 
ings. It  would  then  take  at  least  another  year  to  acquire  title  to  the  property. 
Under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  therefore,  it  would  be  1922  or  1923  before 
the  actual  physical  widening  could  take  place  and  the  improvement  of  the  route 
completed. 


